Der Sonnenpfad

Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #1

by Erin Hunter, Friederike Levin (Übersetzer)

Seit unzähligen Monden lebt ein Katzenstamm unter schwersten Bedingungen in den Bergen. Als die junge Katze Flatternder Vogel dem eisigen Winter zum Opfer fällt, stehen ihre Gefährten unter Schock. Der Kampf gegen Hunger und Kälte scheint verloren zu sein.

Doch Halber Mond, die weise, alte Sagerin des Stammes, hat eine Vision von einem Ort, wo es genug Nahrung für alle gibt. Eine Gruppe mutiger Katzen verlässt ihre Heimat und bricht zu einer abenteuerlichen und gefährlichen Reise in das unbekannte Land auf. Allen voran die beiden ungleichen Brüder Wolkenhimmel und Grauer Flug, deren Vertrauen zueinander durch ein tragisches Unglück bis ins Mark erschüttert wird...

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Middle Grade, Fiction, Cats, Childrens, Young Adult

337 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Erin Hunter is the pseudonym of five people: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui T. Sutherland, Gillian Philip, and Inbali Iserles, as well as editor Victoria Holmes. Together, they write the Warriors series as well as the Seekers and Survivors series. Erin Hunter is working on a new series now called Bravelands.

Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having a great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior, shaped by her interest in astronomy and standing stones.

Reviews

[Kat (Lost in Neverland)]

*Phone rings*

Me: *I answer it* Hello?

"Is this Kat?"

Me: Yeah?

"Yes, hi, I'm here with Warriors.com, reminding you that there is a new spin-off Warriors series called The Sun Trial: Dawn of the Clans. It's about how the clans all started."


Me:

"Hello?"

Me:

"Miss Kat?"

Me:.........Bye! *hangs up phone*






That phone conversation didn't actually happen, but it was pretty funny huh?




Anyway, back to the Warrior cats.


YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.



Fucking love the Warrior cats.

[Kristy]

Woah.. I thought the series was over!
Can't wait for it to come out :D

I might die waiting for March 5th. They better have books in the afterlife...

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad the cats found their new home. Poor cats that died though. I wonder what will happen to the cats who stayed. One of my favorite series.

[Ivka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Redaktorka: "Čau, Ivi, dostala som na teba tip, že by si si užila fantastiku, kde treba vymýšľať veľa mien, čo by si povedala na toto?"
Ja, presvedčená, že idem prekladať funky detskú sériu o hovoriacich mačkách: "No jasné!"

Oh boy. Neviem, kedy mi došlo, že je niečo zle. Možno, keď asi v druhej kapitole zomrie prvé mača. Alebo potom, keď ďalšiu TEHOTNÚ MAČKU ODNESÚ HLADNÉ ORLY. Alebo keď niekoho zrazí auto a "jeho telo vyletí do vzduchu a ostane ležať s cícerkom krvi vytekajúcej z úst", alebo niečo také. Proste - niekedy vtedy som si uvedomila: "Čo ti pere, ja prekladám mačaciu Hru o tróny."

A poviem vám jedno - táto séria má lepšie premyslený dej a lepšie vzťahy medzi postavami ako väčšina serióznych fantasy kníh pre dospelých, ktoré som v poslednej dobe čítala. Prvá kniha nie je dokonalá, napríklad sa na nej strašne podpísalo, že je to prvý diel, a teda taký prológ k tomu, čo príde potom, a miestami to na môj vkus bolo trochu rozťahané. Ale inak! Ooooh! Stojí to za to. Uvedomila som si to v momente, keď som večer pred spaním rozčítala dvojku, kde sa všetko to, čo sa tu pomaly nastolilo, dá do pohybu, a prečítala ju na jeden šup. Hej, šla som spať o pol piatej ráno KVÔLI DETSKEJ KNIHE O MAČKÁCH.

Keby mám tak 12 rokov, ŽERIEM TO. Ak sa ako rodičia obávate, že je to príliš krvilačné alebo čo, tak nie, nemyslím - decká to v pohode zvládnu a v sérii je toľko sympatických postáv, že sa na ňu ľahko namotajú. Má to dobrodružstvo, má to drámu, má to naozaj zručné autorky, ktoré píšu tak, aby každá veta stála zato. Ak máte v rodine mladého milovníka fantasy, tak skrátka neváhajte.

Alebo si to KÚPTE SAMI PRE SEBA, lebo toto nepochopíte, kým neprečítate.
Odvarená prekladateľka out.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shut UP, this was so good!


I've been really excited about getting to Dawn Of the Clans for a while, but tried not to have high expectations. It's definitely a challenge to get fans on board with brand new characters in any franchise. But wtf, the Erins Hunter nailed it in this first prequel book.

My brain finally wrapped itself around the timeline, so this series takes place after Jay's Wing guides the tribe to the mountains and before the first series (wtf is that in actual years, I have no idea, but would like to know). Prey is scarce in the mountains, and Stoneteller receives a sign that the tribe needs to find a new home. The tribe is divided on this idea, but when a kit dies from starvation, they take a vote and half the group leaves to find a new forever home, in the forest that goes on to birth the clans we all know.

Siblinghood is a strong presence in many of the Warriors books, and The Sun Trail intros us to Clear Sky and Gray Wing, two brothers that end up journeying to the forest. The book seems to want us to see a good brother (Gray Wing) and an evil brother (Clear Sky), and maybe that's an accurate foundation, but it's not totally there yet. The mountain cats exhibit a hardness you don't see in the later clans, probably a necessary quality for them as they establish a new home and community lacking rules and order. Clear Sky's actions (disowning his son, not supporting the mother of his kits) make him out to be a real dick, but with survival being the end game, one could understand his choices as a means of gaining strength and sustainability. Gray Wing's greater sense of humanity (cat...manity?), while inherently portrayed as good, will probably cause some missteps eventually.

Clear Sky is still a ho, though, let's be clear.

Having come from the mountains, Thunderpaths and Monsters (roads and cars) are new to these cats, and this perspective was written so cleverly. While the clan cats have a slightly more sophisticated view, they haven't seen these things before and so don't understand how they work, making it plausible to believe the cars are out to get them and not simply traveling to a destination. As a kid, I found cars absolutely terrifying, even when they were parked and off - they're huge and menacing, and the cats are flailing across the roads in front of them because they have no idea what cars are or how they behave. Props again to the Erins for their writing of this very non-human perspective.

Again, these cats are hardened by their circumstances, and that makes this book heavy with death that doesn't seem to stop coming. So...buckle up for that. Journeys into the unknown bring hardship, and while I'm sure casualties will die down eventually, let's just say you shouldn't get too attached to these cats, for now.

The fun of reading this book comes from getting to know these new cats and speculating what role they play in the formation of the Warrior clans we know. As the tribe cats slowly divide into two groups (presumably what eventually become Thunderclan and Shadowclan), a kit is born that is essentially kin of both groups. Named Thunder, it's safe to assume he will play a big part in clan formation. But what's suuuuuper interesting (and not unexpected) will be the slow revelation of just how much the four clans are actually blood related.

[Lizzie 🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

YES!!! I was still traumatized from the realization that the warriors i've known since into the wild to the last hope were GONE. Hopefully this new series will be just as good and as interesting as the other four!!!!

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best Warriors books in a long time! I'm serious, I really enjoyed this one! The characters were believable, as well as the romance. I liked that in the end, Gray Wing didn't get the girl (even though no one in Warriors ever really did get a happily ever after except Lionblaze, and even he lost Hollyleaf. Most of the characters lost the people they loved, lost their friends, or lost their kits).

I loved the way Clear Sky was written. A lot of people will hate him, but I thought he was brilliant! Sure he was a bit of an a**hole, but that's what made him a great character. This book is taking the approach The Prince Egypt took when they told the story of Moses. They are showing the relationships between the brothers. You don't really want them to split apart, but you can see that they are now forced to be enemies. I can understand the decisions he made, as harsh as they was. In reality, cats living in the wild would do exactly what he did. The cats in Warriors have been softened because they're written like humans, but they really are rather ruthless if placed in a wild setting. We have cats that come around our barn and they were half, if not entirely feral, and they act that way.

Storm was... eh. I guess she was believable--she was young and stupid and didn't really know what she wanted out of life yet. She made mistakes and changed her mind. But one thing was never answered: Who attacked Storm and her kits? And why would they kill them? Is this the great-great-great-great grandfathers and grandmothers of BloodClan cats? I don't really see an incentive unless she had done something to really infuriate them.

Jagged Peak really got on my nerves at first, but he really matured as time went on. However, I really didn't find myself caring about the fact that he broke his leg. Maybe it was the fact that he got on my nerves earlier, but the only thing that even mildly affected me was when Clear Sky drove him out. I just kind of sat there with my mouth open thinking: "Holy crap. Erin Hunter went there." Shaded Moss and Storm I also didn't care about. I just... didn't identify with the character. We didn't really get much exposure to Shaded Moss, and I knew there was something fishy about Storm the moment Gray Wing met her.

The book does have problems. Storm easily gives in to Gray Wing and becomes his friend. When they first meet, she wants nothing to do with him, but by their next meeting, she's giving him affectionate glances and teasing him in a friendly manner. I just thought it was a rapid transition.

The Tribe cats' relationships with Wind and Gorse also surprised me. First they were like, "You are not welcome here", and then Gray Wing made them somewhat his friends by asking Wind to show him how to hunt rabbits, and then, the next meeting, Wind and Gorse just accept them and are friendly. Maybe they got used to their presence and just believed that it wasn't worth fighting over and tried to be hospitable, I don't know.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book. It was long, in fact, I don't there's ever been so much going on in one Warriors book! First the journey, and all the events that happened with it, and then coming to the new territory and meeting the rogues and encountering new cats.

I just hope that we keep Gray Wing's point of view for the next book, or perhaps have it alternate between him and Thunder. I also hope that Thunder isn't a Gary Stu. I have high hopes for the Dawn of the Clans, and I don't want Thunder to ruin it.

[Noella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het verhaal begint bij de Bergkatten. Het is winter en er is te weinig voedsel. Er moet iets gebeuren. De leider, Steenspreker, heeft een droom gehad waarin haar verteld werd dat ver achter de bergen een land van overvloed wacht. Om hier te komen moeten de katten het Zonnepad volgen, maar de reis zal lang zijn en door onbekende gebieden met onbekende gevaren leiden.
Er wordt gestemd en een deel van de katten wil de reis maken, anderen verkiezen in de bergen te blijven, want als een deel van hen weg is, zal er meer voedsel zijn voor de rest.
Een deel van de katten gaat op weg. We volgen alles vooral vanuit het standpunt van Grijze Vleugel.
Na meer dan een maand reizen komen de katten op een plaats waarvan ze geloven dat dit hun einddoel is. En inderdaad, ze hebben het goed daar, alhoewel sommige katten zich meer thuisvoelen in het bos, en andere verkiezen de heide.
Zo ontstaat er een tweedeling tussen de katten. In het begin is dit eigenlijk geen probleem, maar al gauw begint Heldere Hemel, de leider van de boskatten, zijn territorium te claimen, en zijn de andere katten steeds minder welkom.
Het komt uiteindelijk zelfs tot een climax, met een definitieve scheiding tot gevolg.
Ondertussen gebeurt er ook heel wat betreffende de vriendschaps- en liefdesbanden van de katten onderling en met de enkele katten die al in het gebied of in het nabijgelegen mensendorp wonen.
Zoals altijd een boek dat moeilijk weg te leggen is.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the OotS series ended, I thought I might die. How could the Warrior Books be ending? I thought there would be no more books to look forward to buying (and then freaking out with excitement when you got them). When this book was announced, it was clearly the day StarClan decided to hear our pleas. xD So excited for it and so happy for a whole new story and new characters to get attached to. <3

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I am a HUGE warrior cats fan!!! I have all the books and literally will pick up anything the Hunters write. However, I have to say that while I couldn't wait to dive in and read and that stupid grades have to come first (haha just joking, I really freak about my grades. I wonder if it's healthy to be so stressed about them) I wasn't too impressed.

I understand that the whole back story and setting was necessary but I felt that Gray Wing was just pushed off too strangely into the journey. I mean why would you take along Jagged Peak? Then, when they FINALLY got to the original territories from 'Into the Wild'-which is my favorite warriors home-I wished more exploring had been done.

What the heck happened to all those hostile cats that the mountain cats had run into? They told them to never return but nothing happened when they did. The whole thing with Storm reminded me WAY too much of Graystripe and Silverstream. Don't get me wrong, I liked those two, but then it was like all Gray Wing did was pine after her. And I get that this was first love and all but seriously, how could he not have understood what was going on when he brought her to see his brother, and how he had hurt Turtle Tail every time he mentioned Storm.

And after countless hints the flea-brain still didn't get why she was so depressed all the time.

But, things got interesting near the end. But I did find it strange that after what happened to Fox, Gray Wing wasn't all worried. He just carried on, as Fox was, well, you know (if you have read that part yet.)lay there.

So I will pick up the next book because the Hunters have always proved how amazing they can turn a story into. I just hope there isn't too much more of insta-love. It worked with Graystripe, but not so much with Gray Wing.

[Ry Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good book

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sun Trail is about a tribe of cats who live near the top of a mountain, and have been living there peacefully for many moons. But lately, prey has become incredibly scarce, and their leader fears they will not survive. When a mysterious vision reveals a land filled with food and water, a group of brave, young cats set off in search of this better home.

I have to admit, I was not expecting this book to be so well written, and edited so well. In the Omen of the Stars series, I was able to point out atleast 15 errors in every single book. But surprisingly, I wasen't able to find any in The Sun Trail. The Erins have really outdone themselves so far in Dawn of the Clans, and I hope the rest of the books in the series can live up to the standards The Sun Trail have set. I also enjoyed the whole drama scene between Gray Wing, Clear Sky, Turtle Tail, and Storm. I found it very entertaining as well as frustrating that every cat Gray Wing seemed to like, already felt something for someone else. (Clear Sky, pretty much) It was also nice to see no cats with powers... (Seriously, I'm kind of glad that's over...) The whole power thing was going on for way too long, and I'm glad the Erins finally came to their senses, and stopped writing books about cats who can do crazy, impossible things... I also was glad the Erins finally stopped creating charecters that are 'perfect'. Perfect, as in thay always know the right thing to say. I found that in Omen of the Stars, practically every charecter always said the right, mature thing. It was kind of strange, since charecters like Ivypool and Dovewing talked and thought up smart plans like experianced, wise warriors when really, they were just young apprentices. (They sounded like this in books like Fading Echoes and Night Whispers) Anyway, at the beginning of The Sun Trail, I realized the Erins had finally gotten over this, and were making charecters who didn't always say the right thing again. Like Gray Wing and Storm, for instance. Yes, they are both very bright and mature cats, but that doesn't mean they always say the right thing.

Though The Sun Trail is an incredible book, there was one part that I wasen't very thrilled about...The part when they had to journey to the new land. The Erins have had them on voyages way too many times for my tastes. The New Prophecy series was practically all that arc was about, and they have done little journeys in books like Outcast, Sunrise, The Fourth Apprentice, and Sign of the Moon. It has really gotten old, and it was pretty much the only downfall of the whole book.

All in all, The Sun Trail is one of the best books the Erins have published in a long time, standing next to Crookedstar's Promise, and The Forgotten Warrior. It was quite the suprise for me, and probably many other warriors fans. I'm hoping to see many more books written by the Erins that are just as epic, and enjoyable as this one, in the next upcoming books in the warriors arc, Dawn of the Clans.

[Micheline]

Oh. My! It's finally announced: The prequel Warriors Series! The Dawn of the Clans! New Warriors books to look forward to: AWESOME! I can't wait :D

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

These cats get crushes the way middle schoolers do. I do not remember them being so horny when I read these as a child.

[Historyprincess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Premise: When a tribe of cats living in the mountains falls on hard times – suffering from overcrowding and starvation – their leader is shown a vision of a land of plenty in the East, where the sun rises. She encourages some of the cats to go to this place, that they all might live. Among them are two brothers – Gray Wing and Clear Sky. They know the journey will be hard, as does every other cat in the party. But little do all of them truly know of the trials and conflict they'll soon face – both before and after they reach their destination.

Story/Writing: This book engaged me from start to finish. When they reached the end of the titular trail, I was a little worried the story would come to a halt. But I was happy to be proven wrong! The environments feel huge, the characters real, and the atmosphere and pacing are so good that whenever there's a new twist or turn, you get the sense of how big a deal it is! While I did kinda knew what was going to happen, I was still shocked at the actions – and, of course, deaths – of certain characters. But that's the power of good writing – and man does this team of women knock it out of the park! The world they create is both beautiful and dangerous, hopeful yet mean-spirited. It's obviously set in modern-day, but the way it's written makes it feel grand and epic yet believable and likable. One nitpick I do have though is that I wish the scenery at their destination was described a little bit better. I often had to reread entire scenes just to get a general idea of the geography. I know there's a map at the beginning, but sometimes when I read a book that has one…I forget about it. But even when I don't, it is kinda frustrating having to go back and look at a map several times – and possibly lose your place in the story. Still, that's just me.

Characters: This cast has already joined my list of characters that seem real/I wish were real, along with those of the MCU and "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Even the seemingly minor characters are written superbly and given important things to do. I was particularly and very pleasantly surprised at how human they felt, despite being cats. They were all so interesting and well-fleshed-out, you could probably make them human beings, and – aside from biological differences – they wouldn't change at all.

Gray Wing: I consider Gray Wing the main character of this story since it's told mostly from his point of view. And boy did this book make me fall in love with him (Not in that way!). He honestly reminds me a lot of Captain America from the MCU – selfless, kind, and always thinking of others before himself. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones in which he interacts with his mother Quiet Rain and kit-brother Jagged Peak. He doesn't want to leave their mountain home at first, but is ultimately forced to when Jagged Peak pulls a ten-year-old boy stunt by going after the traveling party. He's so willing to put himself on the line for his friends and loved ones that when Bright Stream and Storm die, he feels responsible – even though neither was his fault. But for all his altruism, he's not without his flaws. If nothing else, he's quite oblivious to Turtle Tail's feelings for him.

Clear Sky: This might seem a bit controversial, but I loved the way Clear Sky was written. From the start we see some traits of his that play into his actions later on. He's a bit arrogant and likes to take charge, but he does sincerely care for his loved ones and was even willing to save Petal when she was just a stranger to him. While I certainly don't agree with all his decisions – not least of which throwing out his own brother and even his son – given all he's gone through, I legitimately got where he was coming from. He's lost not only his kit-sister, but also two mates and the litters he fathered (with the exception of Thunder). It's because of all these losses that he feels this desperate need for control. The only problem is he seems willing to do just about whatever it takes to get it – even if he has to use force.

Half Moon: She may have been featured only in the first few chapters, but Half Moon made a big impression on me. She's a wise and loving yet world-weary leader. She's almost like a female Gandalf. I'm not too familiar with "Harry Potter," so I don't know if I can make a better comparison with Professor McGonagall. Regardless, one of my favorite scenes in the book is the one in which she says to Gray Wing, "We can never be sure of our future. All we can do is trust that what we believe is right."

Turtle Tail: I really liked Turtle Tail. She's lively, adventurous, and sometimes pretty funny! She's also empathetic, particularly towards Gray Wing. It's clear she has feelings for him. But it soon becomes just as clear to her that he doesn't seem to know or even care. I loved that this rift is kinda created between them when she starts getting interested in exploring the Twolegplace (neighborhood). She does seem genuinely curious, but I also got the sense that she wanted to live there in order to move on from Gray Wing. Yet even when he has eyes for Storm, she ultimately can't resist helping him when he needs it.

Storm: Although she was featured only in the last third of the book, I found Storm pretty cool. She seems a bit rough around the edges at first, but she turns out to be surprisingly open-minded and more than capable of standing up for herself. It was kinda awkward when she and Clear Sky first meet. There was a sort of "love at first sight" vibe to it. But I liked that she eventually broke up with him and even declared she was gonna raise their kits on her own. I thought, "Yeah, you tell him, girl!" Even so, it was that same coolness factor that just made it all the more gut-wrenching when she and two of her kits kicked the bucket – or in this case, the wall.

Petal: It was interesting to read three extra chapters revealing how Petal and her brother Fox met Clear Sky. In the main story, she just seems like a snappy shrew who's got a bone to pick with pretty much everybody. But then I read about how she and Fox witnessed their mother's violent death at the hands of a badger, and then had to survive on their own in a cat-eat-cat world at such a young age. At that point I thought, "No wonder she's so mean-spirited." Knowing all that, once Clear Sky – a complete stranger – saves her from drowning, it makes sense when she joins him. Not to mention it makes the moment when Gray Wing accidentally kills Fox all the more tragic.

Various Other Characters: Jagged Peak was frustrating yet adorable, much like a typical ten-year-old boy. Shaded Moss was a brave and self-sacrificing leader, and his death and subsequent funeral were genuinely sad and touching – respectively. And the loss of Bright Stream? Heartbreaking. It was awful (but in a good way…sort of) and even kinda scary when she got taken off by the eagles – especially considering she was pregnant with Clear Sky's kits. I found her so endearing, and to have her go in such a frightening way was rather disturbing to read.

Overall: Aside from that one nitpick of mine regarding the hard-to-envision geography, I had a blast reading this book. I honestly wasn't expecting too much, but it was a feast for the eyes and emotions. It had everything I could want in a good story, and I can't wait to read more!

[Lemurkat · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those of you curious, the golden eagle can feasibly lift prey weighing up to around 4.4 kg, if the weather conditions are favourable. Normally anything over 2 kg is a struggle.
An adult cat weighs around 4kg. Therefore, if the wind is right, an eagle could carry away an adult cat BUT, it would not be easy! Especially if the aforementioned cat was struggling for its life.

Anyhow, now to the actual review:

I love animal books, and it's been a long, long time since I read "Into the Wild" and a few of its follow-ups, but because I'm about to run a RPG where the PCs are cats, I thought some research was in order. Research being, reading what other people have done with cats. Therefore, you should expect to see quite a few cat-related books reviewed here.

This tale is essentially Watership Down done with cats. General plot: mountain cats are hungry, not enough prey, so group leaves to find new home. Main characters are two brothers: Grey Wing and Clear Sky, and upon reaching new home, Clear Sky decides to breakaway and form his own clan. For reasons that we do not understand, because the story is written significantly from GW's perspective, he turns his back on his previous family and friends and basically becomes a territorial jerk. There is a love interest torn between the two brothers, but honestly, the lack of tension there is almost palpable. In fact, there's very little tension in the entire tale. It reads almost like fanfiction. A fun read, but not exactly remarkable.

Now, I have a zoology degree, and although I'm not actually actively using it, I am quite well-read on things feline. There were many innacurate little niggles with this book that turned me off it. Domestic cats are one of the few cat species that do exhibit social characeristics. However, cats do not form monogamous partnerships (kittens in one litter may be from different toms, for example), and the male plays no role in kitten-rearing. Not only that, but cats are nocturnal and hunt during the night, using scent and hearing over eyesight to locate their prey. I can only imagine that these cats behaved differently because, as it was written for the middle grade market, and it was easier for the reader to identify with something that behaves more human than feline. Of course, other things stretch the credibility even further: particularly the splinting and binding of a broken limb!

Also, cats do not see colours the way we do: they do not see red, for example, their vision is likely limited to blues and greys. They can, however, see in lower light levels (ie: a moonlit night) and have better peripheral vision.

Overall, a fairly lacklustre adventure story, with characters that you couldn't really develop much affection towards and a weak inducer into reading the rest of the series.

[Alexis H · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I love the Warriors series, there is no making up for what they butchered in this book. It felt like I was reading a cliche high school drama which is never what the series should be turning to. Clear Sky became stupidly evil, throwing out his son and turning against the cats that he thought of as family. Gray Wing loved Storm for no reason and then completely blew off Turtle Tail. Storm loved Clear Sky for no reason. Really... It became a Romeo and Juliet type thing. The whole premise just made the book an unbearable train wreck. I love the idea of showing us how the Clans all began, but all this drama is not the way to accomplish it. What happened to Firestar's daring feats and the terrible life or death battles? It feels like every conflict in the book is becoming some cat's lover's spat. The fourth arc was pushing it with all the supernatural powers but there is absolutely no need to turn this into a human reality show. Call me old fashioned, but I'll stick with the first two arcs. I do enjoy what the series does with their super editions, so maybe I'll swear off the main arc for now and relax with some of the old cats I know and love like Yellowfang or Tallstar, and seeing the true struggles they had to cope with.

[Marisa Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the old series back in middle school, up until The Power of Three, so idk what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this monstrosity. I feel like the quality since then (if it existed) has spiraled into the void.

The amount of scenes where hunting is involved is just criminal. About 60% through the book, I thought I was going to lose my mind if I had to read about them hunting one more time, and then of course they hunted about a dozen times more after that. Good god, Erin Hunter, just write about stuff that actually happens and real character development instead of all the goddamn hunting. Maybe then the insta-love wouldn’t have been SO VERY BAD. (No, I take that back, insta-love is never justifiable.)

Also, and I may be biased, but as someone who’s never once met a cat that’s not a bastard, I find it difficult to believe every single character in this book is a selfless, brave, responsible creature. Which makes the turn toward ‘evil’ one of them makes actually the most believable bit in the whole book.

Nonetheless, I’m going to finish this arc because I still can’t think of another series I’d rather borrow on e-book than own, and I love reading terrible books. It gives me hope I can be published one day too.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new series seems fantastic, and I can’t wait to read the rest of it! This book was a great way to start off the new year and I liked it a lot! I really like Bumble she is so sweet, and my favorite character of this new series! I can’t wait to read the next one!

[Simppu · Rating 3 out of 5]

En ole ihan varma, mitä ikäryhmää ajatellen kirja on kirjoitettu (nuorten kirjaksi kirjastossa määritelty). Toisaalta kirjoitustyyli ja puhuvat kissat lähtökohtaisesti saivat minut ajattelemaan lastenkirjaa, toisaalta melko brutaalitkin kuolemat selvästi vanhempaa yleisöä. Veikkaan, että itselle olisi iskenyt todella lujaa joskus ala- ja yläasteen vaihteessa.

Auringon polku on ilmeisesti viidennen saagan aloituskirja, enkä ole lukenut muita Soturikissoja. En tiedä vaikuttiko tämä lukukokemukseen. Koko lukuprosessin ajan hiersi jonkin verran, kuinka hahmot yrittivät olla tavallisia kissoja, mutta vaikuttivat väistämättä ihmismäisiltä esimerkiksi puhumisen takia. Hahmojen runsaus ja samankaltaiset nimet vaikeuttivat tarinan seuraamista, joskin pidin siitä, kuinka nimeämissysteemit vaihtelivat alkuperän mukaan. Sinänsä juoni oli ihan viihdyttävä, ja yllätyin siitä, kuinka synkkiä sävyjä loppuratkaisussa oli.

[jo.ojo.o Midnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schöner Anfang der Staffel, besonders das letzte Drittel macht Lust auf mehr, wobei das Buch in einigen Stellen auch echt brutal ist..

[Sage Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gray Wing isn’t the stepfather, he’s the father that stepped up

[tyrosine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gray Wing is the father who stepped up

[Niffty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Not recommended order
Dawn of the Clans: The Sun Trail ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dawn of the Clans: Thunder Rising ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dawn of the Clans: The First Battle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dawn of the Clans: The Blazing Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dawn of the Clans: A Forest Divided ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dawn of the Clans: Path of Stars ⭐️⭐️
Moth Flight's Vision (super edition) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thunderstar's Echo (ebook) legends of the clan ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shadowstar’s Life (ebook) path of a warrior ⭐️⭐️
Average: 3.278

The Warriors series was my childhood. I grew up with Warriors. I haven’t read it in a while so i decided to read the series but this time i’m going to read them in the order that they happened. I remember enough of the main series to do that. Dawn of the clans is the prequel to how the clans got started. It was the one series that i didn’t get to. It was fun to revisit my childhood. It still had the spirit of Warriors.

Half of this book was the cats going on a journey so some parts are slower than others. I enjoyed the story more once they reached their home. It is nice seeing the clans before any rules were made.

I liked that the book spoke out for territory boundaries. If you read warriors you know that boundaries are important to each clan. Each cat has to stay in there own territory. There would be a ton of arguments over a cat killing prey in another clans territory and that they are stealing their prey. In this book there is a scene where one of the characters said that another character was stealing prey because they killed prey on their territory. The character (which is the main character) saids that prey belongs to who ever killed and that there is enough prey in the forest for all cats. I just found it kinda funny that in the main series territory is very important and the rest of the characters (including the main character) is like nope that’s stupid. It kinda makes you wonder why the clans got boundaries if everyone from a while ago were against them. The book even shows you why boundaries are bad.

[Xander G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Spoiler alert* The first book in the Dawn of the Clans series of Warriors (this book) consists of how the clans started off. To sum it up, the cats had originally lived in the mountains until the stoneteller, Half Moon, had a vision of a place with more opportunity, and safety than the mountains, since a lot of cats were dying. Gray Wing, the main character, was my favorite one. He had so much emotion and passion for his actions, and he was a cool cat (that was intentional). The story kept me guessing as to what would happen on their journey to this new land. My favorite part of the book was when Gray Wing had saved his brother from the eagle, and his brother was very cocky afterward, saying that he did well in defeating it. The team of authors who call themselves Erin Hunter are very good at writing sad scenes, death scenes to be exact. I could not stop flipping pages, though showing no emotion, I was very interested in the book. The story was wrapped up well, and I will be reading the second. I would recommend this book to anyone into a thrilling and emotional novel, due to how attached you could get to the characters, just to have them probably die in the end.

[Tarmia · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the first book in the prequel series to Warriors (beginning with Into the Wild)this series aims to give a backstory to how the four cat clans depicted in these books, began. The beginning of this story takes place in far-way mountains, where a clan of cats are struggling to survive during a bitter winter. This begins the journey of a small group of these cats to leave their mountain abode and find a better place to live; to follow the sun trail to a prosperous place. Once there is when this story becomes a little messy. So many characters are introduced in the second half of the book that it becomes almost impossible to discern who is who and their relation to one another. However, there was a good amount of drama created and the main cats were well characterised and developed.
I think I'll continue to read this series, albeit, slowly.

[Lavendermist ❀༉‧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, don't get me wrong I love Warriors. I started to read the books in order of the chronological list, to see how the clans develop from the beginning to present time. However, this book was just extremely bland compared to the other Warriors books. It's literally just walking with some death sprinkled in between the pages here and there. I honestly feel like this book wasn't really worth it. Also, same thing goes for Firestar's Quest, but it has no or less death (I think...??)

[Savannah J.]

WOW!!!! This was not what I expected! The Sun Trail is about before the clans were even invented, when the Tribe was barely onto its next leader! I love the cast of cats, and enjoyed the deep explanation of just how other clans think Thunderclan is arrogent. ( Not in Firestar's generation, they weren't though!)

[Juliette Locktree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! A great first book of a series. Full excitement and thrilling events. It keeps you on your end of your seat.
This was exactly what I expected of a Warrior Cats book amazing and just as great as Into the Wild of the frist series ♡

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Heat level: 0/5 (THEYRE CATS-)

*Reread*
I absolutely adore this series. This is like my second or third favorite series of warrior cats! I love Gray Wing so much and I love rereading his story and the story of the cats from before. Gray Wing is my second favorite cat. He deserves the world. He’s the sweetest cat ever <3 this book is such a good intro into an amazing series. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!